Electronic forms are commonly used to collect information. These electronic forms may enable users to enter data and have that data stored digitally, such as in computer-accessible databases. Data so stored can be quickly retrieved, allowing others to use that data.
Electronic form templates may be designed to collect specific kinds of information or to collect it in particular ways. An electronic form template for recording tire sales, for instance, may be designed to enable entry of a tire salesman's name and employee number, the type of tire sold, the cost of the tires, and customer information. With this recorded information, the tire company may better be able to keep track of its sales, inventory, and customer information.
For consistency across multiple forms or to save time and effort, a programmer may wish to reuse part of an electronic form template when building another electronic form template. A programmer may, for example, want to reuse the part of the tire sales record for recording a customer's information in another electronic form template needing entry of such information. To do so, however, the programmer may have to write code, often requiring substantial time or programming experience.